---and I'll bet you've already guessed what it is:
What is the best 5x7 film holder?
I don't shoot much 5x7 and I do have an odd assortment of holders but I haven't used them enough to discover which make is my favorite, although the wooden Kodaks seem lighter and externally smaller than the rest of the litter

I have a hike planned and the 5x7 Speeder is going to be my camera on this one.
I'd like to find a few more film holders for the mission, but which?

New film holders are entirely out of my budget so these will have to be found on the used market.
By "Best" I mean bullet proof---like the old plastic Graphic Riteway 4x5 holders (I've yet to come across an old plastic Riteway that was a leaker!)

So what say you 5x7 shooters? Which brands should I look for?

Keith Pitman

23-Apr-2017, 17:13

Here's a marginally helpful answer: I only use Fidelity Elite; a friend swears by Toyo holders.

Leigh

23-Apr-2017, 19:20

Here's a marginally helpful answer: I only use Fidelity Elite; a friend swears by Toyo holders.
The same here. I've shot exclusively Fidelity Elite holders for years.

I recently bought new 4x5 Toyo holders to replace all 72 of the Fidelity Elites.
The Toyo holders are demonstrably better than the Fidelities IM[-H]O.

I will do likewise for 8x10.

I don't shoot enough 5x7 to justify that expense.

- Leigh

Fr. Mark

23-Apr-2017, 20:54

I have a couple dozen 5x7 holders of wood and plastic and various ages makers. All purchased used and most of them from forum members. I consider them interchangeable. However, I am not the most picky/demanding user.

mdarnton

24-Apr-2017, 04:47

Me, too. I have a preference for wood, just because.

Sal Santamaura

24-Apr-2017, 07:45

...What is the best 5x7 film holder?...

...a friend swears by Toyo holders.Can you post some images of your friend's 5x7 Toyo film holders? Having never encountered any, I'd really like to see what they look like. If they're anything like 4x5 Toyo holders (older, non-reeking ones), I'd agree with the "best" designation.

I've bought a number of 4x5 holders recently.
They have a very slight chemical odor that dissipates in a few days.
These are the latest ones, with a Al white label on the end of the box indicating aluminum darkslides.

Perhaps the odor was from the plastic darkslides themselves, since it didn't go away with time.
I don't know if it was that or the plastic bags they were packed in. Just speculating.

- Leigh

Sal Santamaura

24-Apr-2017, 09:00

The latest Toyo holders don't reek.

I've bought a number of 4x5 holders recently.
They have a very slight chemical odor that dissipates in a few days.
These are the latest ones, with a Al white label on the end of the box indicating aluminum darkslides...From which retailer did you purchase them? I'd try a couple if it were possible to be certain in advance they have aluminum slides.

...Perhaps the odor was from the plastic darkslides themselves, since it didn't go away with time.
I don't know if it was that or the plastic bags they were packed in...Definitely not the plastic bags. Since it appeared around the time when Toyo's 4x5 holders changed from smooth to textured plastic dark slides, maybe the source was those slides. However, the same stench was given off by then-new-production Toyo 8x10 holders with aluminum slides, so it's difficult to say for sure.

Leigh

24-Apr-2017, 09:07

From which retailer did you purchase them?
I'd try a couple if it were possible to be certain in advance they have aluminum slides.
Hi Sal,

I buy them from Kumar in Japan.

I'm sure you know him. He posts here frequently.

- Leigh

John Layton

24-Apr-2017, 09:56

Over the years I've accumulated a fair number of holders of different sizes, in wood, metal, plastic, and various combinations thereof - from companies like Agfa/Ansco, Kodak, Fidelity, Lisco...and Toyo. The toyo's (at least my examples) offer something that the others really don't...a feature that can make a difference in the field - which is a combination of design, quality of construction, and choice of materials/finishes which conspire to facilitate a predictably smooth, even, and easy removal/insertion of dark slides, which I truly appreciate when, for example, I'm out and about with my super lightweight Gowland Pocket-View - a camera which can otherwise have a tendency to move out of adjustment if a dark slide offers "too much" resistance. Even on my heavier cameras...if I have a holder which requires me to struggle to get its dark slides out...I'm creating a greater risk that I'm going to lift the entire holder, perhaps ever so slightly but non the less fatally, out of secure contact with the film back - and we know what that means!

But I've been a bit distressed more recently to learn of this "oder" issue which is apparently exhibited by some of the newer Toyo holders. So, Leigh, thanks for the reference...as I'll be looking for some more Toyo's to add to my collection...and will give Kumar a call!

John Layton

24-Apr-2017, 10:01

A quick ps to my above post...that I have some older Graflex holders with metal slides - which are almost as smooth as my Toyo's. Besides this, I continue to have good luck with my newer Fidelity and Lisco holders. Just make sure that if you buy used, to lay them out on a flat surface when you get them, to make sure that they are not warped.